Anyone can participate in the Fringe Fest, anytime- whether they live in the city or are just dropping by to feel the love. This year, the fest turns 21, legal at last, by hitting the summer streets of the Plateau with more beers, cheers, thrills ‘n spills than ever before.

“We took a lot of time to evaluate our values at the festival this year and we decided we’re about neighbourhood, openness and opportunity,” says Amy Blackmore, the fest’s brand-new Director. “Anybody can show up and get involved- I myself started out years ago as a volunteer. We’re open to you showing up, putting on a show, volunteering or even becoming a staff member. It’s one of the only fests in city that offers this opportunity to everybody.”

During the festival, Montrealers and visitors alike use the break of summer to get outside to the world-famous Fringe Beer Tent (now officially called Fringe Park), a common space at the corner of Rachel and St-Laurent where fest-goers can chill out, snack, peruse the program and mingle. The stage is also set for another instalment of Fringe Pop, the collaboration between the Fringe and another popular Montreal festival, Pop Montreal.

The first weekend of Fringe marks the first of many cherished summer weekends of the St Laurent Street Festival, where the Main is blocked off for the Street Festival for everyone to mill around, check each other out and generally hang out. It’s also where the Fringe puts on their yearly Drag Races and other street-themed events.

How to Fringe: There’s so much to do at Fringe, from the gamut of venue shows to the nighttime Fringe After Dark program (featuring the nightly 13^th Hour talk show, an air-guitar competition and a Slowdance Night), that sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. But Blackmore has the Fringe down pat after all these years.

“My ideal Fringe day starts at Fringe Park, sitting down to look at the program. I’d start it in the afternoon, since I’m probably hungover from the night before. St-Laurent has heaps of cheap food, so grab a slice or a pita wrap, walk into Fringe Park, buy a beer, sit down, open the program and talk to the volunteers. Chances are they’ve heard what’s good,” explains Blackmore. “I recommend seeing more than one genre during the day- a dance show, straight-up theatre, some comedy. We sell a pass that’s 6 shows for $55 or 10 shows for $85, then bring in the pass for free beer.”

Blackmore suggest you stick around for an evening comedy show and even later for the 13th Hour and party with the staff, performers and other festival people. She’s also got one final tip:

“Finally, you also get to go home with someone if you want- I met my boyfriend at the fringe. So fall in love- for the night, or for a lifetime.”

Guest Blogger: Melora Koepke

THE DETAILS

St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival, May 30-June 19, 2011

The post THE ST-AMBROISE MONTREAL FRINGE FESTIVAL appeared first on Tourisme Montréal Blog.

Montreal’s Italian Week takes place this week, until August 15th, which the more observant of you will notice is actually more than a week. But given the range of activities it boasts- art exhibits, food, music, cars, bocce tournaments and much more- it’s pretty evident that a week would not have been enough…

Before we go any further, I have to mention Little Italy’s Milano Supermarket, one of my favourite places for food in the city. Fresh pasta, an incredible selection of cheeses, a great butcher and products from Italy that you won’t find anywhere else in the city. Make sure to pop in.

Where was I? (Honestly, all I can think about is their gnocchi now). Right, Italian Week. The first thing I should highlight is that though the event’s big weekend (August 13^th-15^th) is, for obvious reasons, located in Little Italy, there are actually events held all over the city leading up to it. And as I mentioned before, Italian Week boasts a pretty impressive range of activities, so let’s break it down:

Music: A real feast for the ears. There’s The Barber of Seville, featuring Italian opera singers Marco Camastra and Alessandro Luciano alongside the Orchestre symphonique des Musiciens du Monde. There’s also the Sardinian jazz outfit Enzo Favata and the Tenores di Bitti Jazz Group playing two shows, as well as Italian-Quebecois folk singer Marco Calliari and many more.

Arts and Culture: As this year’s theme is “Sardinia”, consider checking out Frank Sanna’s photo exhibit called “Les Deux Sardaignes” . Antonio Andreoli’s poems about his experience as an Italian immigrant “Piccone & Poems” sound really interesting, though it should be noted that they’re all in Italian. There’s also a children’s art contest, a whole series of literary events and a fashion show.

Cars and Sports: Yes, I realize that this is a somewhat ridiculous section title, but that doesn’t mean it’s not accurate. Cars are always a huge part of Italian week, whether it’s a chance to work on Indy driver Alex Tagliani’s pit crew or the Ferrari Dream Drive , which would seem a bit like showing off if it weren’t for the fact that the 75 or so cars that take part actually drive kids from the Montreal Children’s Hospital and raise tons of money. As for sports? How about a Bocce tournament. If you haven’t yet played this incredible outdoor bowling sport-like activity, this is your chance.

Food: Though I couldn’t track down any specific food events held during Italian Week, Little Italy will absolutely take care of you. When it comes to Italian food in Montreal, you will find not anything that beats Café Via Dante or Lucca and there are some coffeeshops, like Café Italia, that are so good that they’ll ruin coffee anywhere else for you.

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